Under-capitalization refers to any situation where a business cannot acquire the funds they need. An under-capitalized business may be one that cannot afford current operational expenses due to a lack of capital, which can trigger bankruptcy, may be one that is over-exposed to risk, or may be one that is financially sound but does not have the funds required to expand to meet market demand.
Causes of under-capitalization
Under-capitalization is often a result of improper financial planning. However, a viable business may have difficulty raising sufficient capital during an economic downturn or in a country that imposes artificial constraints on capital investment.
There are several different causes of undercapitalization , including:
- Financing growth with short-term capital, rather than permanent capital
- Failing to secure an adequate bank loan at a critical time
- Failing to obtain insurance against predictable business risks
- Adverse macroeconomic conditions
Accountants can structure the financials in order to minimize profit, and thus taxes. As a business grows, this approach becomes counterproductive (Van Horn 2006). Frequently, a growing business will apply for a bank loan only to find their entire accounting system under review.
Banking industry
In the banking industry, undercapitalization refers to having insufficient capital to cover foreseeable risks. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) classifies banks according to their risk-basedcapital ratio:
- Well capitalized: 10% or higher
- Adequately capitalized: 8% or higher
- Undercapitalized: less than 8%
- Significantly undercapitalized: less than 6%
- Critically undercapitalized: less than 2%
When a bank becomes undercapitalized the FDIC issues a warning to the bank. When the number drops below 6% the FDIC can change management and force the bank to take other corrective action. When the bank becomes critically undercapitalized the FDIC declares the bank insolvent and can take over management of the bank.
Macroeconomics
A country or sector of the economy may be undercapitalized in the sense that businesses in that country or sector are handicapped by lack of affordable investment funds. This can be caused by political instability, by lack of confidence in the rule of law, by constraints on foreign direct investment imposed by the government, or by other actions that discourage investment in certain industrial sectors. Examples:
- In the electricity sector in Argentina, the government introduced controls on energy prices in 2002, reducing profitability and thus discouraging capital investment. This was compounded by high inflation, which caused declines in real revenue, while devaluation of the peso increased the cost of servicing high levels of debt in foreign currency. The result was severe undercapitalization, which led to inability to keep up with increasing demand, contributing to the 2004 Argentine energy crisis.
- In Pakistan, the textile industry has been undercapitalized for decades. Among other factors, this is due to protectionist actions by the developed countries that should be natural markets for the industry’s output. These include subsidies of locally produced raw materials (e.g. cotton in the USA), subsidies on local textile industries and high import tariffs on goods manufactured in Pakistan and other low-cost garment producers.
- Resource extraction in the Democratic Republic of Congo (e.g. mining) has been undercapitalized for many years due to endemic violence and looting, uncertain property rights and concerns about corruption. Although the potential is huge, the risks are also huge. Only the bravest investor would supply capital in this environment.
Jeffry A. Frieden notes that during the period of European colonialism the colonial powers encouraged investment in production of raw materials while discouraging investment in industries that would use these materials as inputs in competition with the colonial power’s home industries. During the same period, independent developing countries in Latin America and other areas pursued a policy ofImport substitution industrialization which diverted capital from other enterprises where these countries had a comparative advantage. Although opposite in intent, both policies had the effect of creating overcapitalization in some sectors and undercapitalization in others.
A contrary view comes from the economist Robert Solow, who was awarded the Nobel prize for his work on the ways in which labor, capital and technical progress contribute to overall economic growth. Among other insights, Solow showed that undercapitalization appears to have less impact on economic growth than would be predicted by earlier economic theories.